Iroquois

Calvert Hall lacrosse standout Stephen Kelly is in Turku, Finland this month as a member of the U.S. under-19 men's national team, which is competing in the Federation of International Lacrosse U-19 men's world championships.  The U.S. has won all six titles since the tournament began in 1988.  Kelly, a two-time first-team All-Metro midfielder, will share his experiences with a daily blog as he tries to bring home a gold medal. Hello everyone! The last couple days have been very eventful, with a lot of things taking shape for the team.

Calvert Hall lacrosse standout Stephen Kelly is in Turku, Finland this month as a member of the U.S. under-19 men's national team, which is competing in the Federation of International Lacrosse U-19 men's world championships.  The U.S. has won all six titles since the tournament began in 1988.  Kelly, a two-time first-team All-Metro midfielder, will share his experiences with a daily blog as he tries to bring home a gold medal.   [ UPDATE: The U.S. U-19 lacrosse team defeated Canada, 10-8, in today's world championship game.

Et cetera U.S. U-19 men lose lead, fall to Iroquois, 15-13 The Iroquois Nationals surprised the U.S. lacrosse team, 15-13, in pool play at the Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championships on Tuesday in Turku, Finland. The win was the Iroquois' first against the Americans in outdoor field competition at any level, and it came three days after the U-19 U.S. team lost for the first time since sanctioned international competition began in 1988, 11-9 in overtime to Canada.

Lacrosse U.S. U-19 men rout Germany in quarters The U.S. under-19 men's national team breezed past Germany, 22-2, on Wednesday in a quarterfinal at the Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championships in Turku, Finland, setting up a rematch with the Iroquois today. Matt Kavanagh led the way with four goals and two assists; Connor Buczek added four goals, and Kyle Keenan had two goals and three assists. The Iroquois (3-1) beat the Americans, 15-13, on Tuesday in both teams' final game of pool play.

Japan sprinted to an undefeated round-robin record with a fleet-footed brand of lacrosse. But that style took it lumps against the physical Iroquois Nation.Shoving Japan around at times, the Iroquois eventually wore down their Far East opponent, 12-9, last night in the World Championships play-in game at Homewood Field. The Iroquois (2-3), who left their physical mark with nine penalties, now advance to a semifinal tonight against the four-time defending world champion United States.Japan (5-1)

Take the 6-feet-wide lacrosse goals of today and widen them a few miles. Strip away the painted boundary lines and plant a tree or a stone somewhere far away, maybe where the next country starts. Multiply the number of team members from 10 to 1,000, and you've got lacrosse the way it was originally played -- back in 1636.The Native-American way."We lived by what the Creator had given us, and lacrosse was one of them," says Wes Patterson, founder and director of the Iroquois National Team, which will be competing in this week's 1998 International Lacrosse Federation World Championship at Johns Hopkins University.

Rex Lyons scored four goals, including the game-winner with 16 seconds remaining, as the Iroquois Nation upset England, 10-9, yesterday at Homewood Field.Lyons, the son of Oren Lyons, founder of the first Iroquois Nation lacrosse team in 1983, scored the winning goal off a rebound against an English squad that was playing two men down.It was the first victory for the Iroquois over one of the Big Four nations -- England, United States, Australia and Canada. England, which had beaten the Iroquois twice by a combined score of 34-18, has never finished lower than fourth in the World Games.

Call it frustrating and sloppy at times, but the style of the U.S. national lacrosse team remains consistent.The U.S. team endured yet another slow start and sometimes messy effort to wear down the Iroquois Nation, 20-8, yesterday before 7,038 at Homewood Field in the World Games round robin.The United States improved to 3-0 and is now 53-1 in international competition. The Americans now prepare for the much-anticipated showdown at 8 tonight against rival Canada (3-0) for the top seed.Yesterday, the United States waited until late in the second quarter to make its push, bagging the flashy and sloppy acrobatic shots and passes to concentrate on simple dodging and off-ball cuts to the goal.

Remember those worries about the U.S. lacrosse teamlacking that killer instinct? Forget about them.And those criticisms that coach Bill Tierney collared the attack with a too-disciplined philosophy? That's a thought of the past.The Americans showcased the type of high-scoring and overwhelming overall effort last night that many had expected from them the entire week. Final tally: United States 24, Iroquois Nation 4, before 5,535 in the World Games semifinals at Homewood Field."It takes time," U.S. defenseman Brian Voelker said.

When the Iroquois Nation took a 2-0 lead on Australia in the first period of yesterday's third-place game, it looked as if a new world power might be on the horizon. The Iroquois came out with the fire they lacked in Wednesday's loss to the United States, making crisp passes and penetrating to the goal.But the Iroquois success soon ended when, with the score tied 4-4 after one, Australia woke up and scored eight unanswered goal and never looked back winning en route to a 17-5 victory."We came out very passive in the first period," said midfielder Chris Warren, who led Australia with four goals and two assists.

Calvert Hall lacrosse standout Stephen Kelly is in Turku, Finland this month as a member of the U.S. under-19 men's national team, which is competing in the Federation of International Lacrosse U-19 men's world championships.  The U.S. has won all six titles since the tournament began in 1988.  Kelly, a two-time first-team All-Metro midfielder, will share his experiences with a daily blog as he tries to bring home a gold medal. Hello everyone! The last couple days have been very eventful, with a lot of things taking shape for the team.

Et cetera U.S. U-19 men lose lead, fall to Iroquois, 15-13 The Iroquois Nationals surprised the U.S. lacrosse team, 15-13, in pool play at the Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championships on Tuesday in Turku, Finland. The win was the Iroquois' first against the Americans in outdoor field competition at any level, and it came three days after the U-19 U.S. team lost for the first time since sanctioned international competition began in 1988, 11-9 in overtime to Canada.

MLS Beckerman named All-Star a sixth time Real Salt Lake captain Kyle Beckerman (Arundel) was named Sunday as one of 18 Major League Soccer All-Stars who will face Chelsea FC on July 25 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Beckerman was selected to the team by D.C. United and MLS All-Star coach Ben Olsen , having missed out on being named to the All-Star First XI voted on by fans. The 30-year-old defensive midfielder from Crofton has four goals and four assists in 19 starts and has received All-Star recognition in six straight seasons.

Calvert Hall lacrosse standout Stephen Kelly is in Turku, Finland this month as a member of the U.S. under-19 men's national team, which is competing in the Federation of International Lacrosse U-19 men's world championships.  The U.S. has won all six titles since the tournament began in 1988.  Kelly, a two-time first-team All-Metro midfielder, will share his experiences with a daily blog as he tries to bring home a gold medal. Hey guys! The last couple days have been very eventful.

The opening ceremony for the Cup of Nations girls lacrosse festival had just been completed at the Naval Academy when the purple-and-white Iroquois flag that was flying alongside those of the 10 World Cup nations was taken down. The flag was placed in the hands of First Nations coach Sandy Jemison, who was informed that only flags of member nations of the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations could fly during the World Cup. Jemison's heart sank, as it did in the summer of 1987 when Onondaga clan mothers informed her and the rest of the Iroquois Nation women's team that there would no longer be a team, that women playing lacrosse disgraced the sport's tradition.

Goalie Mike Petit suffered an ankle injury in yesterday's 14-6 win over the Iroquois Nation, leaving the U.S. with Harry Alford as the only official goalie on the roster. Petit injured his ankle during a clear attempt with about seven minutes to play in the second quarter off a check by Brandon Francis, who had three goals and an assist for Iroquois. Petit was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center for treatment immediately following the injury, which is believed to be ligament damage to his ankle.

The opening ceremony for the Cup of Nations girls lacrosse festival had just been completed at the Naval Academy when the purple-and-white Iroquois flag that was flying alongside those of the 10 World Cup nations was taken down. The flag was placed in the hands of First Nations coach Sandy Jemison, who was informed that only flags of member nations of the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations could fly during the World Cup. Jemison's heart sank, as it did in the summer of 1987 when Onondaga clan mothers informed her and the rest of the Iroquois Nation women's team that there would no longer be a team, that women playing lacrosse disgraced the sport's tradition.

The United States began its quest for a sixth straight International Lacrosse Federation world championship by defeating the Iroquois Nationals, 21-6, yesterday in Perth, Australia. Attackman Kevin Lowe led the Americans with four goals. Ryan Boyle (Gilman) and Bobby Benson (McDonogh, Johns Hopkins) added three each. Former Loyola College All-American Gewas Schindler led the Iroquois Nationals with three goals. The U.S. team is scheduled to play tournament host Australia today at 4 a.m. eastern time in the second game of pool play.

As if it weren't enough to have to adjust to the unique style of each opponent in the Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships, the United States women have had to adjust to international rules, several of which are much different from those used in American scholastic and collegiate competition. In their tournament-opening, 13-9 win over Australia on Friday night, the U.S. women had the most difficulty with hard boundaries, which were instituted in international play in 2002. Instead of possession being awarded to the player closest to the ball when it goes out of bounds (except when the ball is shot)

Canadians in maple leaf-laden clothes, color-coordinated Australians and singing Englishmen provided an international flavor at the opening ceremonies of the 2003 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships last night in Towson. A crowd of about 500 cheered the 16 teams, representing 10 nations, at Minnegan Field at Towson Stadium, kicking off the 10-day event. Officials of lacrosse's various governing bodies welcomed players, fans and officials to the Baltimore area for the first-ever combined men's and women's under-19 championships.